


Alternate Encounters

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: Sympathy for the Devil [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Episode: s05e08 Changing Channels, Gabriel Feels, Gen, Missing Scene, Parallel Universes, Some angst, canon meets fanon, guys when I say canon I mean CANON so be warned, parallel universe doubles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2013-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-04 17:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel decided to visit an alternate reality to see how they're dealing with their apocalypse. He didn't expect <i>this.</i></p><p>(Or, canon!Gabriel discovers the Sympathy For the Devil universe.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys read the tags, right? So you've been warned.

** CHAPTER ONE **

“ _And for the record? This isn’t about some prize fight between your brothers or some destiny that can’t be stopped. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family.”_

Gabriel stood there for a long time after Castiel and the Winchesters left, the water from the sprinklers trickling down his hair and clothes and dripping off the end of his nose, the water rolling across the floor and engulfing the burning holy oil until the fire went out and Gabriel was free. Even then, however, he didn’t move, his mind and emotions churning.

Dean’s parting shot had hit home, painful in its accuracy. Gabriel _was_ too afraid to stand up to his own family, even if he hadn’t admitted it to himself, and the realisation hurt. He’d seen how his brothers had turned on each other, fighting and tearing at one another, and Gabriel was afraid that if he made a stand – if he stood up to his brothers and disagreed with them about the whole apocalypse shindig – then his brothers would turn on _him_ , and do their best to tear him to pieces the way they had done to so many others. And Gabriel couldn’t bear that.

How many angels, Gabriel wondered, had been extinguished because they’d turned away from what the rest of the angels believed in? How many angels truly believed in what they were doing, and how many were simply going along with it because they didn’t dare disagree for fear of the consequences? How many had chosen to fall, instead? Gabriel had no way of knowing. He’d run, instead of staying to find out.

He didn’t want this apocalypse. He didn’t want his brothers killing each other, destroying the Earth and all the humans on it. He didn’t. But how was he supposed to stand up to his brothers, when he knew that all that it would mean was more war?

Eventually Gabriel shook his head, and snapped his fingers. The water in the sprinklers cut off. With another snap of the fingers Gabriel was dry again, looking none the worse for today’s humiliating little episode. With one final look around the deserted warehouse, Gabriel spread his wings and vanished.

* * *

Gabriel tried to put it all out of his mind. After all, there wasn’t anything he could do, right? Trying to reason with his brothers wouldn’t do any good – they were a bunch of stubborn sons of bitches – and even if, by some miracle, Gabriel convinced them to leave the Earth alone, that still left Lucifer to deal with, and Lucifer had all the compassion and empathy of a snail. Less than that. So really, there was nothing that Gabriel could do.

Knowing this, he tried to go back to his usual Trickster ways and ignore the whole apocalypse problem. Trouble was, it wasn’t working. The tricks and just desserts that normally gave Gabriel a warm glow of satisfaction did exactly zip, and at odd moments Gabriel found Dean Winchester’s words echoing in his head, like a moralistic judgemental earworm. However he tried, Gabriel couldn’t forget what Dean had said, and it was _getting_ to him.

As time passed, it became clear that Gabriel had to do something one way or another, or the guilt and worry was going to send him crazy.

So what could he do? He was still stuck with the same unsolvable problem, and it wasn’t like he could talk this out with anyone else – the angels were pro-apocalypse, the Winchesters would probably rather spit on him than help out, and if any of Gabriel’s pagan friends (well, acquaintances – Gabriel had pissed off too many of them to really call them friends) found out he was an angel? He was screwed. Which meant that Gabriel had to figure this out himself.

Gabriel pondered the question for some time, until eventually he had the Idea.

It was a bad idea, he was willing to admit that. Not only was it breaking unwritten angelic laws (which Gabriel cared about more than he let on) but it was a risky, foolhardy sort of plan. But Gabriel was getting desperate by now, and he figured, well, what did he have to lose? 

The Idea was this: Gabriel’s universe wasn’t the only reality out there. There were other realities out there, some similar, some quite different, their timelines running at different speeds. It was difficult, but possible to travel to other realities. If Gabriel travelled to other realities similar to his own, whose apocalypse had already come and gone (or, if he was really lucky, had somehow been prevented)  then maybe, just maybe, Gabriel could work out a way to fix things in his own universe.  

Gabriel was surprised by how much better he felt, just because of the Idea. It was a long shot, and Gabriel wasn’t holding out hope, but the fact that he was doing _something_ about the coming apocalypse, probably useless or not, made him feel a lot more optimistic and silenced the nagging voice of his conscience. So, after some time thinking everything through, Gabriel stepped out of his reality and into another one.

* * *

It took time to find worlds that met Gabriel’s specifications. He needed a reality that was reasonably similar to his own, but whose timeline was running ahead of Gabriel’s universe so that the apocalypse had already come and gone. 

Once Gabriel did find worlds that met those criteria, however, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses: the first few he found were wastelands presided over by a victorious Lucifer, and the ones after that had been wiped clean of humanity as part of Heaven’s ‘paradise on Earth’ plan. None of them were helpful. So Gabriel kept looking, only to find endless iterations of the two scenarios. 

He had almost given up hope of finding anything else when, all of a sudden, he landed in a universe that was different.

And boy, by different, Gabriel meant _different_. Because although the apocalypse should have come and gone, there was no sign of it. Earth was exactly like back home, minus the apocalyptic omens and Lucifer stomping all over it, and Heaven…

Heaven was in a state of harmony that Gabriel hadn’t seen since before Lucifer’s fall.

Feeling considerably bewildered, Gabriel could only catalogue the differences between this world and his own, a strange awful pain in his chest. He’d almost forgotten what it was like, a Heaven that was in harmony with itself and an Earth that wasn’t in danger of being destroyed, but here they were. Gabriel felt perilously close to tears.

How? he kept wondering. How had this world ended up so _peaceful?_

“Well, _hello_ , handsome,” drawled a familiar voice, and Gabriel whipped around to face… himself?

Gabriel blinked, to see his double staring at him with unabashed curiosity. Gabriel stared back. His doppelganger was standing with his hands in his pockets, dressed much like Gabriel himself was, but with an air of easy power and a genuinely relaxed posture that Gabriel hadn’t yet managed to learn how to fake. And unlike Gabriel, who had been hiding his true nature beneath pagan magic for the last millennium, this other Gabriel was very clearly an archangel.

It hurt.

“So,” the other Gabriel said conversationally, when Gabriel only stared at him, “you got a reason for being here, or what? Because I’ve got to tell you, the other guys aren’t going to look too kindly on you being here. Kinda rude to barge into somebody else’s reality, you know? Sort of like breaking and entering, but with universes. So, you want to explain why you’re here?”

Gabriel swallowed, and tried to find the words.

“I… I just…” He swallowed again. “What did you _do?_ How… there’s no apocalypse here,” he finished helplessly, knowing that he wasn’t making much sense, but unable to articulate the roil of thoughts going through his brain.

The other Gabriel paused.

“Waaait a minute. Your reality’s going through the apocalypse?”

Gabriel nodded, a lump in his throat.

“They’re all… tearing at each other,” and his voice was coming out choked and trembling, but he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t make his voice stay even, “and Heaven’s planning to destroy the world, and Lucifer… Lucifer just wants to destroy _everything._ And I can’t… I can’t _bear_ it… but I don’t know how to _stop_ it.”

Gabriel’s counterpart was looking sympathetic and sorry, the same ache that Gabriel felt showing in his eyes, which wasn’t fair, because what did this guy know about it? How could he possibly know how Gabriel felt, when he lived in this perfect, harmonious reality?

“Don’t look at me like that,” Gabriel snapped, irrationally angry. “I don’t need your pity, okay?”

“Easy, tiger,” said his double, giving him a reproving look. “It’s a shitty situation, I get it, but there’s no need to go snapping people’s faces off.”

Gabriel glared at him, but Gabriel’s double seemed unaffected. Instead he stuck a lollipop in his mouth, and looked thoughtful.

“Y’know what,” he said around the lollipop, his words coming out garbled, “y’should come’n see m’brothers. It’ll be ‘hel’ful. Promise. Y’come w’me?”

Gabriel gave him a suspicious side-eye. The other Gabriel responded by sucking on the lollipop and giving Gabriel a placid look.

“Fine,” said Gabriel at last. His doppelganger grinned, and pulled the lollipop out of his mouth.

“Excellent decision. Come on. Let’s go.” 

He waggled his fingers at Gabriel, and after a moment, Gabriel reluctantly reached out to take his hand. A moment later, they were elsewhere.


	2. Chapter 2

** CHAPTER TWO **

Lucifer glared at the ceiling. Every square inch of it was covered with mistletoe.

“Gabriel’s already been here, hasn’t he?” 

“Who else would cover the entire ceiling with mistletoe?” Sam asked resignedly.

“I don’t understand its significance,” said Castiel, frowning up at the layer of leaves covering the ceiling.

“Traditionally, people standing under the mistletoe are supposed to kiss,” said Sam, “but seriously, please don’t, I don’t need to see that. I’m already scarred enough as it is.”

“Bitch,” said Lucifer cheerfully, vanishing the mistletoe.

The three archangels were at Chuck’s house, decorating it in preparation for Christmas, since Chuck apparently hadn’t bothered. It was Christmas Eve, and the three of them had agreed to drop by to visit their Father, who – unbeknownst to anyone outside Lucifer, Sam, Castiel and Gabriel – was disguised as Chuck Shurley, Prophet of the Lord. Lucifer had taken some persuading, but in the end, he’d given in and agreed to come.

Gabriel had also agreed to come along, but so far, he had yet to show up, even if he’d left his own distinct touches round the place: besides the mistletoe, there was a bowl of candy on what seemed like every surface, and a singing Christmas tree that Chuck swore hadn’t been there this morning. The fact that it was singing obscene variations of popular Christmas carols made it pretty clear who the culprit was.

“Where is Gabriel, anyway?” Sam asked, frowning.

“Beats me, man,” Lucifer shrugged. “Cas?”

“I don’t know either,” said Castiel. “I haven’t seen him since this morning.”

“Yeah, same here,” Lucifer frowned. “Ah, well. I suppose he’ll show up sooner or later. Where’d Dad go?”

Sam frowned, tilting his head in the way that meant he was looking with more-than-human senses. The frown slid into an expression of disapproval.

“He’s just opened a bottle of whiskey.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes.

“Sam, he’s _Dad._ His liver can take it. Lighten up.”

Sam looked mulishly unconvinced, so Lucifer turned back to decorating Chuck’s house.

He and Castiel were halfway through decorating the singing tree (because they might as well) when Gabriel suddenly appeared.

Correction: when _two_ of Gabriel appeared.

One was clearly Lucifer’s brother: he had his usual bouncy attitude and confident stance. The other one, though, looked lost and bewildered and mistrustful in equal measures, and something about the set of his shoulders and the look in his eyes said that this was a Gabriel who was used to the world kicking him when he was down.

For a moment there was a long silence.

“Gabriel?” Sam asked carefully. “Why is there two of you?”

The Gabriel who wasn’t Lucifer’s brother glared at them all suspiciously. His eyes stopped on Lucifer, and his eyes widened as he recognised the archangel.

“You took _Dean_ as your Vessel?” Bizarro Gabriel screeched, stepping backwards, and his eyes darted around to Sam. “And Michael took _Sam?_ ”

“Oh man,” Lucifer groaned. He was _so_ tired of explaining this to people. “Dude, no. I _was_ Dean Winchester. My Grace was stuffed in the Cage and I spent a few millennia reincarnating as a human over and over until the Cage was opened. And Michael fell, and was reborn as Sam.”

Usually Lucifer just tried to pretend that Sam was only Sam, because his relationship with Michael still wasn’t the best. It was complicated.

Bizarro Gabriel gaped at Lucifer with wide, incredulous eyes.

“Gabriel, where did he come from?” Sam asked sternly.

“Whoa, guys, chill out,” Gabriel recommended, waving a lollipop at them admonishingly. “The guy needs help, okay? His reality’s going through an apocalypse, and he’s kind of torn up about it.”

_ Oh.  _

Well, that explained the way that Bizarro Gabriel was staring at Lucifer, at any rate. Lucifer ruthlessly squashed the feelings of guilt that tried to surface, because this apocalypse _wasn’t on him_ , dammit.

Lucifer looked back at Bizarro Gabriel, who was now taking in his surroundings, still with that disbelieving look.

“Is this – are you celebrating Christmas? _Together?_ ” He waved his arms around. “What happened to _destroying the Earth?_ ” Bizarro Gabriel looked agitated. “Every other world I’ve seen is in ruins or wiped clean, so how the hell did you guys end up all – all frigging Brady Bunch here?!”

“Calm down.” Gabriel slung an arm around Bizarro Gabriel’s shoulders. Bizarro Gabriel looked uncomfortable at the contact. “It’s kind of a long story, okay? But basically, Lucy over there–” he twirled his lollipop in Lucifer’s direction, while Lucifer scowled at the nickname, “–after all his time spent as a human, picked up a thing or two like you know, empathy, and decided he’d rather save the Earth than destroy it. So here we are.”

“Dean describes our time on Earth as ‘slumming it,’” Castiel added helpfully. He was still holding the bauble he’d been about to hang on the tree when the Gabriels had appeared.

Bizarro Gabriel whipped around like he hadn’t noticed Castiel before, too busy gawking at Lucifer and Sam. His facial features did a strange dance, a weird mix of shock and recognition and, for some reason, shame.

“Castiel?” Bizarro Gabriel asked, and then, “you call him _Dean?_ ”

Castiel gave a slight shrug.

“I got used to him as Dean. Calling him Lucifer seemed unnecessary.”

“Since when have you been an archangel?” Bizarro Gabriel accused.

“He was promoted,” Lucifer explained.

“Dean needed a babysitter,” Sam explained.

“He’s sort of like my personal Jiminy Cricket,” Lucifer clarified.

Bizarro Gabriel looked overwhelmed.

“I think I need to sit down,” he muttered.

* * *

Gabriel took a seat on the slumped couch, his head spinning.

Lucifer. Getting on with Michael and not destroying the world. Michael hanging out on Earth. The two of them being _Winchesters._ And Castiel, a serenely calm archangel instead of the falling, desperate angel Gabriel knew.

He ran a hand across his face, his emotions too jumbled to know how he was feeling.

Gabriel looked up, to see the others watching him. Michael was watching him seriously, Castiel was looking at him with an intent gaze, while Lucifer’s expression was somewhere between sympathy and guilt, if Gabriel judged right. He glanced at his counterpart, to find himself being given a look of deep understanding.

Gabriel didn’t know what to think. But his heart was sinking, because if this – this _utopia_ depended on Lucifer getting his head out of his ass and manning up – well. It definitely wasn’t about to happen back home. Which meant that Gabriel still had no idea what to do about the apocalypse.

“If you hadn’t been human,” he asked Lucifer quietly, “what would have stopped you from destroying the world?”

Lucifer looked very, very sad as he replied, “Nothing.”

Gabriel nodded slowly.

“That’s what I thought. Sorry to bother you.”

“Wait!” Michael said suddenly, as Gabriel stood, preparing to leave. “Just because the circumstances are different doesn’t mean we can’t help.”

Michael’s expression was painfully sincere and earnest. Gabriel’s heart ached, and he missed his own brothers more than ever.

But Michael was so like the Michael Gabriel used to know that he found himself sitting down, just so he could spend more time here.

“Fine,” he said reluctantly, unable to help the way he yearned for the others’ company. 

“Great!” Gabriel’s double chirped, and Gabriel scowled at him. Having his own cheer turned on him was _annoying_. “So, why don’t you tell us exactly what’s going on in your world, hmm?”

So Gabriel began to explain, from the seals being broken and Lucifer being set free and beginning his reign of death and terror, of how adamant Heaven was about their ‘Heaven on Earth’ plan, and how the Winchesters and Castiel were doing everything they could to fight it. No one seemed surprised to hear that Castiel had fallen, and Lucifer and Castiel exchanged a long look so full of feeling that Gabriel almost felt embarrassed to witness it. So that was how it was, huh? He wondered if Dean and Castiel back home were headed in the same direction.

Haltingly, Gabriel explained how powerless he felt to stop what was happening, and recounted how he had tried to force the Winchesters to say yes to Lucifer and Michael. He was unable to meet anyone’s eyes as he told them how the Winchesters had tricked him into a circle of holy fire and made him spill all.

It had been a relief to tell the Winchesters really, to finally get out everything that had been weighing on him all this time. But the righteous scorn in Dean’s voice, the look of disappointed contempt on Castiel’s face – Gabriel couldn’t forget that any time soon.

Gabriel finished telling his story, and there was a short silence. Gabriel forced himself to look up and meet the others’ gazes. There was none of the disdain he expected, only looks of pained empathy. That was almost worse.

“Yeah, so that kind of ended badly for me,” he drawled, pulling on his usual insouciance with an effort, even though he knew it wouldn’t fool anyone. “Not my best moment, I admit. But Deano maybe had a point, and I couldn’t really forget it, even though I tried.” Gabriel spread his hands. “So here I am, trying to find _some_ way to do the impossible. Any ideas?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *guilty look* Uh, so here's part three?

** CHAPTER THREE **

Lucifer couldn’t help the guilt that welled up at Bizarro Gabriel’s story. It was evident that Bizarro Gabriel was alone and miserable, facing down a horrible inevitable event with no way to stop it, even though he wanted to. Bizarro Gabriel was torn between a desire to help and the knowledge that it was hopeless, wanting to reconcile with his brothers but unable to stand what they were doing. As Bizarro Gabriel sat there, clearly consumed by guilt and shame, Lucifer felt nothing but regret and deep disgust for the fact that another version of _him_ was responsible for the mess Bizarro Gabriel was in. It was like that reality that Zachariah had sent him to, all over again.

Lucifer shoved his feelings away angrily, knowing that feeling ashamed wouldn’t help Bizarro Gabriel right now. Better to come up with a way to help the poor bastard instead of angsting over what had happened to him.

Sam was frowning over what Dean Winchester had said to Gabriel, before he’d hit the sprinklers to set Gabriel loose.

“I’m sorry Dean said that, Gabriel,” Sam told Bizarro Gabriel gently. “You didn’t deserve it.”

Bizarro Gabriel gave a bitter laugh.

“What, are you going to tell me he got it wrong?”

“Maybe not wrong,” Sam conceded, “but he didn’t have all the facts.”

“No, the thing is, he was right. He was right. I was running away from everything, and now he’s pointed it out, I can’t do that anymore.”

“Do you feel you can kill Lucifer?” Castiel asked bluntly. Bizarro Gabriel gave a strident laugh, all self-mocking and full of bitter, black amusement. The sound made Lucifer wince. In his peripheral vision he saw the Gabriel he knew do the same. Sam just looked sad.

“Don’t you think that if I was capable of killing my own brother, I might not be in this situation in the first place? Hell no. Even if I could bring myself to do it, this is _Lucifer_ we’re talking about. He could turn me into mincemeat, and I know it.”

“He’s got a point,” said Gabriel, nodding in agreement. The sight of him agreeing with his other self was surreal.

“It’s a pity you can’t just shove his ass back in the Cage,” Lucifer mused, frowning. Everyone but him and Castiel froze. “What?”

“Maybe he can,” Sam said slowly, looking thoughtful.

“What are you talking about?” Lucifer asked.

“The keys to the Cage,” said Gabriel, looking suddenly shaken. “The Horsemen’s rings. Man, it’s just as well you didn’t bind Death, or someone could have stuck you back in there.”

Lucifer looked at Bizarro Gabriel sharply.

“Is it the same in your world?”

Bizarro Gabriel looked stunned.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “It is. And what’s more, all the Horsemen are out there, too.”

“So it’s only a matter of hunting them down,” Sam finished.

“I like the way you say ‘only’,” Bizarro Gabriel told him.

“You’d have to trick him into the Cage somehow, though, I’m guessing,” said Gabriel. “That’s going to be the hard part.”

Bizarro Gabriel was looking overwhelmed again.

“You know,” he said softly, “this could actually work. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.” Hope was slowly lighting up his eyes.

Lucifer reached out and rested a hand on Bizarro Gabriel’s shoulder. Bizarro Gabriel looked up at him, and his vulnerable look and the way he leaned a little into Lucifer’s touch like he couldn’t help it made Lucifer furious at the angels in the other universe.

“Do whatever you have to,” Lucifer said firmly. “If your Lucifer’s like I suspect he is… he’s nothing but destruction and rage, Gabriel. He has to be stopped, by whatever means possible. Believe me, I _know_.”

Bizarro Gabriel met his eyes, and swallowed.

“Gotcha.”

“But don’t feel guilty, whatever happens,” Sam said vehemently. “Help if you can, but… this isn’t on you, okay? The responsibility for stopping the apocalypse isn’t all on one person.”

“No,” Bizarro Gabriel said slowly, “it’s on all of us. And I think I’ve been dodging my part for too long.” He still looked conflicted, but there was surety there where there hadn’t been before. “And if I see a chance to end this thing, well, I should take it, right?” He managed a smile.

“Just… be careful,” said Sam quietly. “Promise me.”

Bizarro Gabriel looked oddly grateful for Sam’s concern, and Lucifer felt another flare of anger at the other angel’s brothers.

“I’ll try,” Bizarro Gabriel said, and part of Lucifer wanted to hug him.

* * *

Gabriel couldn’t remember the last time one of his brothers had worried about him. Even before he’d left Heaven, everyone was too busy being obedient and weeding out those who weren’t to care about each other. After Lucifer fell and Father left, feelings and creativity were cut out of the Heavenly Host piece by piece, turning angels into something more like automations than the heavenly guardians of their Father’s will that they were supposed to be. Even before he’d left Heaven, Gabriel had been heartsick and alone, unable to suppress his feelings the way that his brothers demanded. All he had received from the others was orders, all the harmony and love he remembered from before completely absent.

But here he was, standing in an alternative universe, where Lucifer looked pained and worried for him, Michael expressed concern and reassurance, and even little Castiel wanted to help him, while his counterpart acted like he took their caring for granted. Something starved and yearning bloomed in Gabriel’s chest, like an ache behind his breastbone, full of painful longing. 

Gabriel wanted this. He wanted brothers who cared, who got along and had _feelings,_ besides fatalism and rage and false pride. He _wanted_.

He suddenly couldn’t bear to stay here any longer, knowing that none of this was really for him. No matter how much he’d like to stay here and bask in the care and affection around him, he’d only lose it the moment he went home, his world still the same loveless place. And like it or not, his world needed him.

“Guys,” he said, and had to start again as his voice cracked. “Guys.” He tried to think of something to say that expressed how he felt, but words failed him. “Thanks,” he said instead.

And then, before they could respond, he fled back to his world.

He was only there a moment before the other Gabriel came after him, following the trail his Grace left behind him. In his hurry to leave, Gabriel hadn’t bothered to obscure it.

“You skedaddled fast,” Gabriel’s doppelganger remarked.

“Excuse me if your universe was a little too much for me,” Gabriel retorted. “What are you _doing_ here?”

His doppelganger raised an eyebrow.

“Checking that you’re okay,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Gabriel was speechless for a second. It must have showed, because his double smiled self-deprecatingly.

“Let me tell you something. A few months back, I was in pretty much your situation exactly.” He paused. “It’s hard to believe in, isn’t it?” he asked, a little more quietly. “That after all the fighting and drama of the last few thousand years, Lucifer and Michael are suddenly _kind._ Between you and me, it took me a while to believe it, too. I usually try not to let on.”

Gabriel stared at him helplessly.

“But that’s _your_ universe,” he pointed out. “Mine is still just the same, with Lucifer rampaging around like an angry rhino and Michael not giving a shit about anything except Heaven’s plan!” Gabriel knew he sounded like a petulant child, but he couldn’t help it. “I can’t afford to believe it, because here, in my world, _nothing’s changed,_ and it’s not going to!” he shouted.

The other Gabriel looked unaffected by the yelling, his eyes solemn and gentle. It made Gabriel want to scream and hit something.

“Is it really so hard to believe in something?” his double asked.

“ _Yes_ ,” Gabriel hissed, crossing his arms and glaring. “It is.”

Gabriel’s double shrugged like that didn’t bother him, and now Gabriel wanted to hit _him._

“I guess I can see your point,” the other Gabriel responded, “seeing as I was basically you up until a few months ago. I mean, you can’t count on Michael or Heaven, and you _definitely_ can’t count on Lucifer.” He snorted at the thought. “But you know who you can count on? People.”

“What?” Gabriel asked blankly.

The other Gabriel waggled a finger at him.

“Think about it. People are people, and they’re always going to be people. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, but mostly, they’re just people. Struggling, in their own way, to make it in this world. Maybe they’re flawed, but they _try_. Which is more than I can say for most of our brothers, right? Apart from Castiel, who do you know who makes that kind of effort to change, to do what’s _right,_ instead of just coasting along on superiority and orders that, let’s face it, don’t mean bupkis anymore?”

Gabriel realised he was gaping, and shut his mouth. He found his voice.

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

The other Gabriel shrugged.

“Well, when Lucifer’s suddenly adamant that humanity’s worth saving, it gets you thinking, you know? You start wondering if maybe, all of Heaven’s got exactly the same problem, which is that for all our vaunted virtues, we can’t really value anything in creation except for ourselves.” Gabriel’s doppelganger shrugged. “But who knows, right? Dad knows I’m no one’s psychologist. And the only guy who _really_ knows for sure went AWOL long ago.”

Gabriel had never thought about humanity that way before. But the other Gabriel’s words were accurate. Over the years, Gabriel had become fond of the humans, despite his role of a Trickster – or maybe even because of it, given how much of humanity he saw that way. Their flaws, their weaknesses, but also their strengths and good points. 

After all the time he’d spent among them, Gabriel knew that they didn’t deserve what was going to happen to them, through no fault of their own.

“You’re saying I should believe in humanity?” He scoffed, because he didn’t want his double to see how strongly the idea had taken hold.

“If you want,” the other Gabriel said easily. “Just trying to give you options here. Because, I gotta say, an angel without faith is a sad, sad thing.”

“I think you should go now,” said Gabriel quietly. The other Gabriel gave him a long look, and a rueful smirk.

“If you say so. But tell you what. You survive this, you come and pay us a visit to let us know how it went, okay?” With a little wave, and without waiting for an answer – Gabriel’s doppelganger really was just like him, annoyingly so – the other Gabriel disappeared back to his universe.

Gabriel wasn’t sure what to make of it all. He had half a plan on what to do about Lucifer, if he decided to go ahead with it; maybe without him, the angels would call off their stupid plans to purify the Earth. It would be dangerous, and require the kind of bravery that was synonymous with stupidity, but it was _something_. He wasn’t decided either way, but, if he did decide to try and stop the apocalypse, at least he had a way, whatever the chances were of it actually working.

And meanwhile, in another universe, his brothers were going on as though they’d never been at odds.

Deciding that he needed a drink if he was going to think about this for long, Gabriel popped away to his favourite bar. A lot of gods and pagans of various persuasions tended to hang out there and exchange gossip. It had been a while since Gabriel had last listened to the grapevine, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find out how the gods were responding to the threat of Lucifer and the other angels. Who knew, he might even manage to pick up some gossip on how Kali was doing while he was there. He’d heard about her having some issues with Baldur.

Pulling on his usual smirk and making sure that no sign of his inner turmoil was showing, Gabriel sauntered into the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that this is the same Gabriel who ended up in _Archangel In Exile._ Does that make it better?
> 
> I'm sorry guys, I know I usually do happy endings, but this one needed to be bittersweet.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Way Out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092395) by [TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel)




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